Springfield and Rockford snag high school baseball state championships

Ron Haggstrom and Cassidy Hettesheimer spent the afternoon at Target Field and sent regular updates about the games and the scene. Class 1A coverage is from Haggstrom, Class 2A from Hettesheimer.

5:37 p.m.

One infield single in the bottom of the sixth inning kept Rockford’s 6-0 state championship win over Foley (23-5) from being a perfect game. But “almost perfect” feels pretty perfect when it means lifting the program’s first state trophy at the end of the game.

Rockford junior pitcher Will Haas, committed to Tennessee for college, struck out 13 while facing 22 batters in seven innings in the Class 2A baseball state title game Friday afternoon. Haas said he’d pitched five perfect innings with no hits earlier this year in a game shortened by run rule; six was the most he’d pitched without a hit.

”Throwing a perfect game at state would have been great, but winning state itself is a whole ‘nother deal,” Haas said. “We came to practice and did our jobs every day. When you have a dugout full of guys like that, I don’t think there’s anybody that could have stopped us.”

Haas was invited to join the USA Prime National Program team in North Carolina for the USA Baseball U17 national championships June 11-14. He said he hadn’t booked a hotel, confident the Rockets would make a deep state tournament run.

”We know he’s going to battle for us every game,” Rockford coach Cody Hallahan said. “Having someone on your [pitching] staff like that, that has that confidence that he knows he’s going to be there and help us win, it just helps everyone else relax.”

Rockford (26-5) avenged last year’s state semifinal loss in dominant fashion. Rockets catcher Harrison Edwards finished the game batting 3-for-3, with two runs and three RBI, as the Rockets scored all their runs in the third and fourth innings. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Edwards hit a two-RBI single into shallow center field — a space that Rockford batters had success finding most of the game.

”Sometimes this year we’d kind of get a tendency to swing for the fences a little too much,” Edwards said. “And so we’ve done our best work by getting singles, singles, singles and gap-shot doubles.”

Senior Aiden Smith also had three RBI after hitting a two-run home run in the semifinals that got Rockford to its first state final.

”It’s so cool, doing this with all my buddies. We’ve been playing since we were so little,” Smith said. “We’ve been on the same team for 10-plus years. It’s so cool to end off like this.”

3:06 p.m.

Dylan Debilzen set the tone for Parkers Prairie.

Jakob Nachreiner of Springfield responded with his version of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better).”

Nachreiner, a senior righthanded pitcher, threw a four-hitter while striking out 11, then had three hits and scored two runs, leading Springfield to its second baseball state championship with a 5-1 victory over Parkers Prairie in the Class 1A finals Friday at Target Field.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time,” Nachreiner said. “This is an incredible feeling.”

The Tigers also beat Parkers Prairie for their first crown in 2016 when Nachreiner was a bat boy, escaping with a 4-2 victory in 11 innings. It was the second-longest championship game in state history after Albany shut out New Ulm 1-0 in 12 innings in 1970.

“I couldn’t be in the dugout back then because I was only in fourth grade,” Nachreiner said. “I wanted to be here one day.”

He was masterful against the Panthers (25-2), ranked fourth by the baseball coaches association. He threw 98 pitches, mixing his fastball, curveball, cutter and his first changeup of the year.

“I had to try it and see if it would work,” Nachreiner said, chuckling. “I had the hitter 0-2.”

Why not? Everything else was working.

“He was amazing,” said Springfield coach Brandon Wilhemi, who was an assistant coach with that 2016 group. “He has been a dominant pitcher for us since his freshman season. Our pitching staff was phenomenal this year.”

Losing pitcher Debilzen, also a senior, went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and scored the Panthers’ lone run. He struck out seven while going the distance on the mound. Only two of Springfield’s runs were earned.

“We were one win away from it being as successful of a season as we could have,” Debilzen said.

Debilzen helped the Panthers grab a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. He led off with a single up the middle and scored on junior Nolan Steidl’s double to right-center field.

“We got off to a great start,” Parkers Prairie coach Derek Denny said. “It would have been nice to score a couple more. We didn’t want to leave the bases loaded [twice].”

Nachreiner struck out the last two hitters to escape the jam. He had six punchouts in the first two innings and allowed only two hits after the opening inning.

“He’s the best pitcher we’ve seen all year,” Denny said. “He was able to mix his pitches well.”

The second-ranked Tigers (25-2) nearly followed the same script in the bottom half of the inning to tie it 1-1. Nachreiner doubled to start the inning, and his younger brother, junior Kade Nachreiner, crushed a double to left-center field to bring him home.

Springfield took a 4-1 lead with three runs in the third, and Jakob Nachreiner was once again in the middle of it. He singled to put runners on the corners and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. The first run scored on an error, and freshman Aiden Moriarty capped the inning with an RBI single. Moriarty had two hits in the game.

“This was a long time coming,” Moriarty said. “It’s exciting.”

Junior Russell Beers plated an insurance run for Nachreiner with a single in the sixth. It was his second hit and second RBI off Debilzen.

“We exceeded expectations this year,” Denny said. “We still would rather be leaving here with the blue ribbons instead of the red ones around our necks.”

The rest of the day, from the end and back to the beginning:

4:44 p.m.

The rain faded as the 2A state championship game got under way, but Rockford junior pitcher Will Haas and the Rockets defense played like there was a storm threatening any minute.

Twenty-two batters faced in seven innings. Thirteen strikeouts for Haas, a University of Tennessee commit. One impressive over-the-shoulder catch for left fielder Riley Strehler in the bottom of the seventh to help see the game out. The game lasted 1 hour, 36 minutes.

Foley recorded just one hit as Rockford won 6-0 for its first state title on Friday afternoon. Freshman Alex Jennessen hit an infield single in the bottom of the sixth to spoil Haas’ perfect game.

Rockford catcher Harrison Edwards finished the game batting 3-for-3, with two runs and three RBI. The Rockets scored all of their runs in the third and fourth innings.

.

4:07 p.m.

“Grand slam, grand slam” was the chant as Rockford junior Harrison Edwards approached home plate in the top of the fourth, bases loaded.

Edwards didn’t hit a grand slam, but he did place a driven single into shallow center field — the same place the Rockets seem to have been targeting all game. That, and a fielding error, was enough to send Riley Moran and Owen Schuster home and put the Rockets up 4-0 off two unearned runs.

Moran, Schuster and Binnebose each hit singles to load the bases. And Aiden Smith wouldn’t leave Binnebose and Edwards out of the run-scoring fun. His triple to right field sent the pair home, making it 6-0. Foley switched pitchers and put senior Josiah Petersen on the mound. Emmerich finished his shift on the mound with seven strikeouts and two earned runs in 20 batters faced.

3:42 p.m.

Rockford junior Pat Binnebose took a risk, and it paid off.

In the top of the third, the Rockets third baseman sent a hit to center field and turned a would-be single into a double with a sprawling slide into second. Junior Harrison Edwards sent Binnebose home with a single on Rockford’s next at-bat, and Aiden Smith sent a third straight Rockets hit to center field. His triple brought Edwards home.

That string of hits put the Rockets up 2-0 in the bottom of the third.

3:35 p.m.

Through two innings, Tennessee commit Will Haas has five strikeouts for Rockford. He left the pitcher’s mound bouncing back to the dugout as he closed out the second inning. Foley pitcher Trey Emmerich has four strikeouts of his own.

The bats have been quiet. Rockford’s Harrison Edwards hit a single, Riley Morgan reached on a fielder’s choice and Haas walked, but no batter has made it to second base. Foley has yet to record a hit.

2:20 p.m.

A light rain is still falling, but the tarp has been removed from Target Field. Teams have begun to warm up. We’re targeting 2:50 p.m. for a starting time.

1:46 p.m.

Once the 1A title game wrapped, a light rain started to fall, and now the grounds crew has the tarp on the field. We’ll see if we pick back up at 2:10 p.m., which would be the prescribed 45 minutes after the A game ended.

Meantime we look ahead to 2A. No. 4 Foley (23-4) faces No. 2 Rockford (25-5), with both teams making their first baseball state championship appearances.

In the state semifinals, Foley scored three runs in the first two innings to jump ahead early in its upset of top-seeded defending champion Esko. Rockford beat LeSueur-Henderson 7-3 in its semi, with a two-run home run and eight strikeouts from junior pitcher Aiden Smith.

Jakob Nachreiner, a senior righthanded pitcher, threw a four-hitter while striking out 11 and had three hits and two runs scored, leading Springfield to its second baseball state championship with a 5-1 victory over Parkers Prairie in the Class 1A final Friday at Target Field.

The Tigers also beat Parkers Prairie for their first crown in 2016, taking a 4-2 victory in 11 innings. It was the second-longest championship game in state history. Albany shut out New Ulm 1-0 in 12 innings in 1970.

Losing pitcher Dylan Debilzen went 2-for-2 at the plate and scored the Panthers’ lone run. He struck out seven while going the distance. Only two of Springfield’s runs were earned.

1:28 p.m.

Springfield is your Class 1A state champion. The Tigers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Russell Beers’ run-scoring single and beat Parkers Prairie 5-1.

1:05 p.m.

We are headed to the bottom of the fifth inning with Springfield still holding a 4-1 lead.

12:42 p.m.

Springfield takes a 4-1 lead with three runs in the third. Aiden Moriarty capped the inning with an RBI single. The first two runs scored on an error and sacrifice fly. Tigers starting pitcher Jakob Nachreiner now has seven strikeouts through three innings. This game is clipping right along for those of you wondering when the Class 2A game might get started.

12:23 p.m.

Springfield starting pitcher Jakob Nachreiner has six strikeouts in the first two innings. He is untouchable. We are tied at 1.

12:19 p.m.

What you can do, I can do, too. Springfield nearly followed the same script in the bottom half of the first to tie it 1-1. Starting pitcher Jakob Nachreiner doubled to start the inning, and Kade Nachreiner crushed a double to left-center field to tie it.

12:12 p.m.

Parkers Prairie didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard. Nolan Steidl doubled home starting pitcher Dylan Debilzen to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The contingent from Parkers Prairie is getting into it early.

12:02 p.m.

There is no waiting around. We are under way.

The first pitch has been thrown as No. 4 Parkers Prairie (25-1) and No. 2 Springfield (24-2) clash for the Class 1A baseball state championship at Target Field.

A Springfield utility player, freshman Leo Hovland, gave the fans an outstanding rendition of the national anthem.

11:35 p.m.

It was Ernie Banks who said, “Let’s play two.”

The Minnesota State High School League is sure hoping to pull that off.

The tarp has been removed at Target Field. The cry of “Play ball” is less than an hour away.

The first of four championship games — two Friday and two Saturday — in the baseball state tournament is scheduled to get under way at noon. The gates for fans opened at 11 a.m., and they are streaming in with no umbrellas open.

The Class 1A championship — No. 4-ranked Parkers Prairie (25-1) against No. 2 Springfield (24-2) — will get everything started at noon. The Class 2A final between No. 10 Foley (23-4) and Rockford (25-5) will follow about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the 1A game.

On Saturday, top-ranked Mahtomedi (22-4) will take on Totino-Grace (18-8) in the 3A title game starting at 11 a.m., and 45 minutes after that game ends, two Suburban East Conference powers, No. 7 East Ridge (20-6) and No. 4 Mounds View (20-8), will play for the 4A title.

The games were originally scheduled for Monday, but rain Monday pushed them to Friday while the Twins were finishing a home series against Tampa Bay. On Thursday the MSHSL announced it would play the big-class games Saturday.

Tap on the game for live scoring if it’s in progress and for game details if it’s over

FRIDAY

Class 1A: Springfield 5, Parkers Prairie 1

Class 2A: Rockford 6, Foley 0

SATURDAY

Class 3A: Totino-Grace vs. Mahtomedi, 11 a.m.

Class 4A: Mounds View vs. East Ridge, 45 minutes after the first game ends

. . .

Costs range from $8 to $13. Tickets must be purchased online at mshsl.org/tickets.

. . .

The Neighborhood Sports Network will stream state tournament games. A subscription is required. Link to the streams here.

. . .

The Star Tribune will publish stories and other content related to these state championships and more. Keep up by checking startribune.com/preps. Thank you for reading and subscribing.

. . .

* The MSHSL’s spectator guide

* Download and print the tournament program

* Star Tribune high school sports page